Telescoping hanger brackets

ABSTRACT

The telescoping multi-section hanger bracket for use in a luggage case wherein the hanger supporting means has a downward slope toward the back of the case, whereby the hangers tend to continually move to the back of the case. For loading or unloading the hangers, the bracket is extended outwardly from the case to a distance approximately twice the depth of the case and includes a minimum of two-point support for each of the sections during the entire extension, thereby preventing twisting or bending of the bracket when loaded and extended.

United States Patent [1 1 Kotklns TELESCOPING HANGER BRACKETS [75]Inventor: Henry L. Kotklns, Seattle, Wash.

[73] Assignee: Skyway Luggage Company, Seattle,

Wash.

221 Filed: Nov. 29, 1911 21 App1.No.: 202,833

[52] U.S. Cl. 211/94, 190/41 R, 248/298 [51] Int. Cl. A45c 13/02 [58]Field of Search 190/13 R, 13 B, 13 C,

190/13 D, 41 B, 41 E; 248/298, 300, 223; 312/321, 335, 336, 338, 347;211/94, 94.5, 105.3

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 844,447 2/ 1907 Gautier211/94 962,227 6/1910 Kuersten 211/94 965,577 7/1910 Gemmer 211/94839,414 12/1906 OsterwelL. 211/94 2,285,745 6/1942 Ritter, Jr 211/94Aug. 28, 1973 3,252,678 5/1966 Myers et a1. 211/57 X 1,641,747 9/1927Doud 190/43 938,231 10/1909 Harskowitch 211/94 2,335,030 11/1943Rotheraine 211/94 Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier Assistanr Examiner--Richard L. Stroup Attorney- Richard W. Seed, Carl G. Dowrey et al.

[ ABSTRACT The telescoping multi-section hanger bracket for use in aluggage case wherein the hanger supporting means has a downward slopetoward the back of the case, whereby the hangers tend to continuallymove to the back of the case. For loading or unloading the hangers,

' the bracket is extended outwardly from the case to a distanceapproximately twice the depth of the case and includes a minimum oftwo-point support for each of the sections during the entire extension,thereby preventing twisting or bending of the bracket when loaded andextended.

3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures Patented Au 28, 1913 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. HENRY L. KOTKINS ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 28, 1973 3,754,664

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HENRY L. KOTKINS ATTORNEYS 1 TELESCOPINGHANGER BRACKETS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It has long been the desireof travelers to be able to carry such things as suits, dresses, coatsand the like suspended to their full length such that when the travelersarrive at their destination the garments will be relatively wrinklefree.

In an effort to satisfy the demand for these carrying elements, themanufacturers of luggage cases have devised cases which have arelatively soft midsection whereby they may be folded. The folded caseis more easily stored and carried and yet when the destination isreached they may be suspended from one end and the clothing in them willbe hung at full length. The full length suspension will quickly hang outany wrinkles that may have developed during folding.

One of the problems which has become apparent with the type of caseherein above described is the difficulty in getting the clothing hungneatly within the bags such that wrinkles are not generated The hangersupporting means is usually rigidly secured to one end of the caseextending the full depth and the clothing must be forced inside the casebefore it is possible to hang its supporting hanger on the bracket.Further, with this type of a case it is difficult for the traveler tolocate the particular item of clothing he desires since each item ofclothing is necessarily hidden, either totally or partially, behind thegarment suspended immediately in front of it.

Inan effort to eliminate the above noted inconveniences a bracket hasbeen designed for use in conjunction with a folding luggage case whereinthe, support means for the clothes hangers upon which the garments areplaced is mounted in a telescopic fashion. The

hanger support may be pulled forwardly out of the case to a positionfree of the case confines where the traveler may have ready access tohis clothing. Additionally, the garments are free of the garment bag andthus exposed to the air and able to hang the wrinkles out more quicklyand easily.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a telescopinghanger bracket for use in a luggage case wherein the hanger bracket iscapable of extending to approximately double the length it requires whenclosed and yet the bracket takes very little roomwithin the case whenclosed, leaving the extra room available for the hanging of theclothing.

A further object is to provide a rigid telescoping hanger support which,when extended, has a minimum of two-point support for. each section,greatly decreas-' ing the possibility of structural failure because ofoverloading the bracket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an environmental viewshowing the type of luggage in which the inventive hanger bracket willbe secured;

FIG. 2' is a view of the hanger bracket as viewed in closed condition asseen from the end of the bracket;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the bracket in a closed or collapsed condition;

FIG. 4 is a section to the bracket along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the inventive bracket with portions broken awayexposing the means of securing one section to another;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the inventive bracket in an extended position;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the hanger bracket in an extendedposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Seen in FIG. 1 is a luggage case ofthe soft sided folding type which would use the inventive brackethereinafter disclosed. The case comprises a generally elongated coveringor protective member 2 which is capable of being folded in the centerwhere it would be normally compressed by a belt 6 enabling the case tobe in a more compact condition when stored in a car or other vehicle.The case is opened or closed by means ofa zipper 8 which extendssubstantially around three sides of the periphery allowing ready accessto the contents of the case when suspended from one end. A hangersupporting bracket, generally designated as 10, is secured to the end ofthe case designed to be hung uppermost providing support for amultiplicity of garments suspended by clothes hangers.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 through 6 the inventive telescoping bracketcomprises a first section 20 adapted to be riveted to the end of. theluggage case normally reinforced or stiffened in some fashion. When inits operational position, i.e., with the case suspended from the endupon which the bracket is mounted, the first section 20 has a downwardlyprotruding center section 22 between two outwardly-protruding ribs 28which serve as hearing points for the second sectionof thehangerbracket.

Secured to the center section 22 of the supporting element 20 in aspaced relationship is an elongated plate member 30 of approximately thesame width as thedistance between the ribs 28 but less length thansupporting element 20 which in the preferred embodiment is fixed inparallel relationship by rivets 31 but which could be secured thereby byany well known fastening means. i I

Mounted between the plate 30 and the ribs or contact members 28 is asecond telescoping section 32 of a generally squared inverted U shapedcross-section. The second telescoping section 32 includes a slot 34 inits upper surface 36, normally the base, to accommodate the rivets 31which secure the plate 30 to the main supporting member 20. Although asdescribed herein above the second telescoping member 32 is of gener allya U shaped cross-section-when viewed from the end but as can be seen inFIGS. 3,5 and 6 the section 32 is of an irregular shape. The base 36 isof approximately the same lengthas the base 20 and the slot 34 althoughclosed at both ends extends substantially the entire length of the base36. The right leg 38, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, extends from the front40 of the section 32 approximately three fourths the length-of the base36. The left leg 42, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, extends from the frontapproximately three fourths of the distance rearwardly. Each of the legs38, 42 includes a slot 44 parallel to the base 36 closed at both endsand extending substantially the full length of the legs.

Mounted for sliding relationship between the legs 38, 42 of the secondtelescoping section 32 is a third section 46 telescopically related tothe second section. The third section 46 includes a. pair of upwardlyextending ears 48, 50 which are designed to interact with the slots 44in the legs 38, 42 of the second section 32 and are located such thatthe rivets 52 which extend from the ears 48, 50 and pass through theslots 44 making a sliding securement thereto will simultaneously contactthe end of the slots 44. The main body portion of the third section 46is a closed loop having a top portion having a rear section 54 disposedapproximately parallel to the edges of legs 38, 42 having integraltherewith the ears 48, 50 and a forward section 56 extending upwardly inan angular direction to terminate at a point where it will just clearthe inside of second section 32 when in a closed or collapsed condition.The front portion 58 of section 46 is of a lesser width than theremainder such that the standard suitcase hanger may pass thereby andrest upon the rearwardly sloping bottom portion 60. The loop is closedby a solid rear portion 62.

Referring now to FIG. 7 it can be seen that the rear portion of the mainsupporting section 20 is relieved at 64 to allow the hanger element 66to extend upwardly therefrom to support the hanger case. The top forwardportion 56 of the third section 46 has a hole 68 for attachment of asupporting chain 70 which could be fastened to the hanger element 66preventing sag of the case during use. Alternatively, the hole 68 couldbe used as a fastening position for a pull tab or the like for ease inextending the bracket.

As can be seen, the inventive bracket makes full length garment bagsmore convenient and practical and further resolves the problems withprior hangers.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A telescoping hanger bracket for use in soft sided luggage casescomprising:

an elongated base element having generally coplanar outwardly extendingside portions for securement to the top of the case, a central portionoutside the plane of the side portions extending in a downwardlydirection from the top, and a pair of parallel ribs extendingsubstantially the length of said central of the base element,

a first telescoping section comprising an elongated element, generallyU-shaped in cross section, having a base and generally parallel legs,said telescop ing section being inverted and having an elongated slot inthe base and in each of the legs, a pair of fastening elements securedto the elongated base element and extending downwardly to terminate in ahead portion larger than the width of the slot in the base of the firsttelescoping section, said fastening elements being spaced along a lineparallel to the ribs of the base element whereby the first telescopingelement has continual spaced support along and lateral to the path oftravel provided by the ribs and the fastening elements,

a second telescoping section slidably secured to the first telescopingsection, said second telescoping section including a pair of spacedupstanding ears for securement juxtaposed with the legs of the firsttelescoping section,

fastening means spaced along the path of travel, for securing each ofthe ears of the second telescoping section to the first telescopingsection whereby the second telescoping section has continuous spacedsupport along and lateral to the path of travel while allowing freeaccess to the clothing suspended therefrom, the entire structure beinghighly resistant to the bending and twisting torques to which a deviceof this nature is normally subjected.

2. A hanger bracket as in claim 1 wherein the second telescoping sectionis in the form of a closed loop with the lower portion sloping generallyrearwardly whereby the hangers supported are continuously urgedrearwardly.

3. A hanger bracket as in claim 1 and including means attached to theoutermost end of the second telescoping section for supporting saidsection when the bracket is extended.

1. A telescoping hanger bracket for use in soft sided luggage casescomprising: an elongated base element having generally coplanaroutwardly extending side portions for securement to the top of the case,a central portion outside the plane of the side portions extending in adownwardly direction from the top, and a pair of parallel ribs extendingsubstantially the length of said central of the base element, a firsttelescoping section comprising an elongated element, generally U-shapedin cross section, having a base and generally parallel legs, saidtelescoping section being inverted and having an elongated slot in thebase and in each of the legs, a pair of fastening elements secured tothe elongated base element and extending downwardly to terminate in ahead portion larger than the width of the slot in the base of the firsttelescoping section, said fastening elements being spaced along a lineparallel to the ribs of the base element whereby the first telescopingelement has continual spaced support along and lateral to the path oftravel provided by the ribs and the fastening elements, a secondtelescoping section slidably secured to the first telescoping section,said second telescoping section including a pair of spaced upstandingears for securement juxtaposed with the legs of the first telescopingsection, fastening means spaced along the path of travel, for securingeach of the ears of the second telescoping section to the firsttelescoping section whereby the second telescoping section hascontinuous spaced support along and lateral to the path of travel whileallowing free access to the clothing suspended therefrom, the entirestructure being highly resistant to the bending and twisting torques towhich a device of this nature is normally subjected.
 2. A hanger bracketas in claim 1 wherein the second telescoping section is in the form of aclosed loop with the lower portion sloping generally rearwardly wherebythe hangers supported are continuously urged rearwardly.
 3. A hangerbracket as in claim 1 and including means attached to the outermost endof the second telescoping section for supporting said section when thebracket is extended.